Cookie Taster of the Week: Beth & Kiki the cat

Beth is my old college roommate who just moved from 3 years of NYC to Belt, MT. (Check out her blog, ROOMMATE!) fun fact: Beth is the least boring person you will ever meet and is the girl to hate since she always dresses cute! :) Kiki is William's (my cat) old gf.
Chewy molasses cookies: 5

Even though they're not chocolate, they're good enough to eat a whole bunch of them at once. Would be good to have if you are stuck inside watching movies all weekend!

Hazelnut cookies: 4

Hazelnut flavor is a little overpowering, but would be good dunked in hot cocoa - the sweet balance would be good for these salty cookies.

Whole Wheat Date bars: 3.5

They were ok, I just don't like dates very much... I like the dough, though. I would serve them with afternoon tea. :)

Whole Wheat Date Bars

the thing to eat
when you feel guilty
about everything you engulfed
over Thanksgiving break
(even has fiber!)

overall rating: pending

ease to make: 1
clean up: 2

so either you like these of your don't....which means i don't ever have to make this cookie again because i would be real disappointed if someone didn't like them. has anyone ever tried making something with dates? oh my gosh. here's how this recipe goes in a nutshell: make dough and refrigerate in rectangle things. boil dates in applejuice and then simmer until almost all the juice is gone. then puree this in a blender and after you have rolled the dough into the thinnest sheet possible cut in half and put date puree in the inside.

here's what i did:
make dough and refrigerate. boil dates in pan and sautee. turn off heat. become sidetracked. come back to pan to realize that the dates have super glued themselves to the bottom of a "stickless" pan. work on super man arms in order to pry them off with a spatula. put in blender. watch dates twirl around, and around, and around in a giant blob instead of chopping up. swtich to a mini food processer....which works only slighly better. get frustrated and decide to start in the morning. stick food processor in fridge. come back in the morning and realize dates are impossible to work with. try microwaving, which makes a runny super glue mixture...etc. so i ended up having only enough date stuff to make 1 rectangle's worth, not 2. so if anoyne wants to make the date portion of this you may have the other rectangle and knock yourself out, but as for me, i'm finished!

Mocha Shortbread Wedges

chopped up expresso beans
mixed with coco
makes this little wedge
a slice of heaven

overall rating: pending

ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

i think a coffee lover could live on these. my neighbor would like this with ice cream and chocolate drizzled on top. although this only made 8 slices its well worth the effort. the only downfall....lining the stupid pan with parchment paper. i still have a difficult time with this.

Cookie Taster of the Week: Kim & Phillip

Kim and Phillip are some of my great friends who just recently moved to Germany. Ironically I have worked with them both at different jobs while in college.

Fun fact: Kim has the most contagious laugh in the world and will laugh at anything, even when you get in trouble from the owner of the bookstore while throwing a football in the back shipping room. here is clara with her cookies!

(since i'm still deciding how to do the reviews, i'm just going to put on here what they thought of each of them)
Brownie - P=4, K=4.5 They were really good, sweet with just a hint of saltiness. These were the only ones that didn't make the trip well. They were hard, so if they were fresh and soft they would have definately gotten 5s.

Sticks - P=4.7, K=5 These were our favorites!! We were so surprised that they were so soft. Phillip says if it had been completely covered in chocolate he would have given it a 5!

Carmel cookie - P=4, K=4.8 My second favorite. Couldn't get them apart, so we ate them as big globs. Still good, and still really soft.

Coconut white - P=3, K=3.5 Important to say that neither of us really like cocount, so these were at a disadvantage from the start.

Coconut brown - P=3.5, K=4 These were definately better than the white ones. Phillip thought they reminded him of no-bake cookies. Still mostly coconut though.

Grammy's Chocolate Cookies

flat as a pancake
this chewy chocolate cookie
will have you begging for some more

overall rating: 3.78
ease to make: 4
clean up: 4

ok, not really. this cookie is weird. i really don't think i did anything wrong but ya know..... this one kind of bites the dust. it's super flat, and only taking one from the "air tight" cookie jar, as recommended by martha, is enough. right out of the oven they really form to whatever they're laying on....which makes me think that if you made them a little larger, took them right of the oven and put them in a muffin tin they would be the perfect shape for a scoop of ice cream..... drizzled in chocolate......sprinkled with sprinkles......
ok now im' dreaming.

Chocolate Charms

although they look like truffels
and are cute as a button,
they're not as sweet
as you may think

overall rating: 3.94ease to make: 5
clean up: 4 (cocoa powder everywhere!)

they're more of a shortbread that leaves you disappointed after you bite into it. i made all chocolate this week because it's all i had in the house. (how pathetic is it that all i have chocolate cookie making supplies and a cup of yogurt?) anyway, these are pretty cute cookies, easy to make and of course, martha is right... you should wait for them to completely cool down before sprinkling them with cocoa powder. the melted cocoa powder on top looks like fuzzy brown mold. although not good by themselves i do believe they're quite taste with a cup of joe.

Rum Balls

one taste from these
little rounds and you'll be ready to
ruummmmm-balllllllllllllll!

overall rating: 4.74

ease to make: 5
clean up: 5

these are definitely not for children and if sold in a shop you'd have to card. they're moist, delicious, and perfect in every way.

Cashew Caramel

hard on the bottom
sticky on top
these nutty rounds
will fill you up

overall rating: 4.44ease to make: 2. working with caramel is always frustrating
clean up: 2 cleaning up caramel is always frustrating

they're a little crunchier than i'd like but there's not much i can do about it. martha wasn't lying when she said to store them between layers of wax paper. now, if you want to grab one cookie you get 4: a giant cashew caramel sandwich.... the only thing people were wanting on top was chocolate, to make more of a turtle. oooh, also.... martha kills me. in the picture of this cookie the caramel is neatly put on in evenly spaced drizzles and there is a spoon in the background. so i'm thinking, ok cool! i don't need anything but a spoon for this. WRONG. mine were totally the opposite. putting caramel on with a spoon = big fat blobs = not attractive.

Coconut Macaroons

a wheat free cookie (!)
chocolate, or not,
hard on the outside,
soft in the middle...
how could you go wrong?

overall rating: 3.75
ease to make: 3.8
clean up: 5

the only 2 huge downfalls for these cookies are: a) the yield is wimpy! b) you form these in your hands but the mixture is so sticky that when you're done you can't touch anything and also can't get it off your hands! (i hate that feeling!) they are a wheat free cookie, which rocks! but i still wasn't a fan. they would be killer if i took a plain one and drizzled it in chocolate like an almond joy....hm. now there's an idea!

OK! i couldn't resist! i made my own special batch of coconut macaroons and that's right martha...hire me. yes! i got 5/5! ....just took some tweaking and i got rave reviews!
(no dog in pic. ez is already in bed)

Cigarette Russes

Sweet on one end
crunchy on the other,
hope you dont mind
a few crumbs on your sweater

overall rating: 4.13
ease to make: in all reality, 3, but i thought they were fun! i'm giving them a 5!
cleanup: 4

ok, so you can only make 3-4 at a time, and you have to work fast so they don't harden before you roll them up, but i had fun making them and would totally do it again. these make an uniquely shaped cookie that looks harder to make than it actually is!

Double Chocolate Brownies

when only a cakey,

moist dense mass of
chocolate will do,
you only need 1 brownie
to make you happy

overall rating: 4.2
ease to make: 5
clean up: 4
how easy are these to make? VERY. i'm still trying to grasp martha's concept of lining pans with parchment paper. i have an invention someday for this because seriously they taste good but don't look so hot. here is this mass of chaos going into the oven:yikes!
i seriously don't get it

Cookie Taster of the Week: Mary!

Mary is my old dorm friend who now lives in WI and has a beautiful little baby, Lucy! (sorry it took me so long to get this up! i've been sick)Our ratings are as follows:

The Pecan cookies: 2 (we aren't big on pecans... but they were tasty)

Chocolate Sandwich cookies: 4.5 YUMMMMM
Chocolate Waffles: I gave this a 5. The boys: 4.
Snickerdoodles: 4

Kim: you're up next!

Bailey, the next Vanna

bobbi and jon were tasters this week and submitted this of their dog (one of ezra's girlfriends), bailey with the sample platter!

Chocolate Waffles

when just a little chocolate won't do
and you come in from the snow
this black snowflake is a rich, sweet reward.
hope you don't mind wearing
your own powdered sugar dusting!

overall rating: 4.15
ease to make: 3
clean up: 2

i really think this would have been easier if my waffle maker made more than 2 at one time! it is quite the babysitting chore. after they're all done and waffled, you dip the top in another chocolate layer and then sprinkle w/ powdered sugar. my kitchen will never be clean again. it does make quite a few and it's worth the reaction for how much work it is to make!